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Sacchi concerned by Serie A foreigners

Former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi has voiced his concern over the number of foreigners in Serie A, and its impact on the national team.

The 67-year-old led Milan to one Serie A title as well as back-to-back European Cups in 1989 and 1990 with a squad made up largely of home-grown players, complemented by the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.

Juventus won their second consecutive Serie A title last season with 12 Italy internationals in their squad, but Sacchi, currently employed as the national team's youth co-ordinator, still sees cause for concern when he assesses the situation across the top flight.

With the champions having already bolstered their squad during the close-season with the signings of Argentinian Carlos Tevez and Spain's Fernando Llorente, and others following suit with overseas signings of their own, Sacchi believes that a win-at-all-costs attitude in domestic football has damaging consequences for the national team.

“If I read the formations of the teams it is not an Italian championship," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"And when there are too many foreigners, history says that our football and national team will suffer.

“If we look for example at Real Madrid, it is true that there are many foreigners but also many Spaniards, often coming from the youth academy because it makes the fans happy.

"In Italy, clubs are only interested in winning, and if you do it with 25 foreign field that’s okay."

Despite Sacchi's fears, Italy reached the final of UEFA Euro 2012, where they were beaten by Spain, also losing to the same opponents on penalties in the semi-finals of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.